Importance of Interests During Childhood

The value of many wholesome interests in the life of the child can hardly be overestimated. They bring him into vital contact with many activities. They provide a wealth of experiences because a child interested in an activity tends to engage in it. Sampling many lines of activity not only serves an exploratory function but also tends toward breadth of personality because of the wide range of experiences. Under these circumstances little danger exists of developing a narrow, one-sided personality. Out of a wealth of experiences may come a desirable breadth of appreciations. A wealth of interests also is important because it facilitates substitution in case of thwarting and helps the child avoid some conflicts which otherwise might arise. If he has many interests, he can, when blocked in respect to one of them, turn the more readily and with less strain from one interesting activity to some other one. Thus, many-sided interests have mental hygiene value not only during childhood, but also during adolescence and adult life.

As the years of childhood pass and the child comes into adolescence, we normally find some interests more permanent and of greater strength. Efficiency is dependent upon a few intense abiding interests which lead to centering attention and effort along some particular lines. Greatest achievement seems to be dependent upon the individual's having a strong abiding interest in the work he is doing. We need not, however, expect the child to have such a narrowed, intense, and relatively permanent interest along some line. He may show a very intense interest in some one thing for a short time and then turn with equal intensity to something else, or he may show much interest in several things simultaneously. During childhood cultivating and developing a wealth of wholesome interests should be an objective of child guidance and control by both parent and teacher.